No fatalities

25 Nov 2009: ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22 BETA — Long Beach, CA

Long Beach, CA, United States

On 25 Nov 2009, a ROBINSON HELICOPTER R22 BETA was involved in an aviation accident near Long Beach, CA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The flight instructor's failure to arrest the helicopter's descent and to maintain lateral control during a hovering autorotation practice. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During a training flight, a helicopter configured for a hovering autorotation descended and struck the ground with its left skid, then rolled onto its side, causing substantial damage. No mechanical failures were reported.

Accident Details

A flight instructor was demonstrating flight maneuvers to a student pilot. The helicopter was configured for a hovering autorotation, and the throttle was closed. The helicopter descended in a left skid low attitude. The left skid made contact with the ground. The instructor attempted corrective control inputs, but the helicopter rolled onto its left side. The fuselage and main rotor system sustained substantial damage.

Instructor Report

The flight instructor reported that the helicopter and engine had no mechanical failures or malfunctions prior to the accident. He stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had applied right cyclic and right yaw pedal control during the descent, and cushioned the landing by raising the collective control.

Investigation

No further details were provided regarding the specific aircraft type, registration, date, location, or occupants. The investigation focused on the instructor's actions and the helicopter's behavior during the autorotation maneuver.

Contributing factors

Instructor/check pilotDirectional control — Not attained/maintained